Life on the Edge (Liz Memmelaar)

Forty-one days out of the 114 days in this little city of York have passed as I write this blog post. Enough days to finally start being able to get around the town easily without needing to pull out my maps. Enough time for friendships with some of the locals here to be formed and steady. So many hours spent talking to British people that I may even pronounce a word in a sentence with a British accent. We are finally in the thick of our semester, where assignments seem to be piling up on top of another in all of our classes. The extensive amounts of free time (that sometimes we didn’t know how to deal with) seem to be replaced with reading full books and writing papers for each of our classes. These are the moments when we all truly remember that this is a study abroad semester.

The weekends are moments where our worries and assignments seem to drift away and we are able take a breath and appreciate the history around us and all of the places we visit. On a recent weekend, our class took a trip to the town of Haworth, where we were able to tour within the house that the Brontës lived in. This house was full of artifacts from the family’s life like clothing, jewelry, and letters. This parsonage was interesting to look through, but was only the beginning of our eventful day in Haworth.

Following our tour, we went on a five-mile walk through the moors: an incredible view filled with miles of rolling hills. Over the course of the semester, I have spoken repeatedly how I love to see the open wide landscapes as I feel I am almost “trapped” or “locked in” the city of York, even with all of its beauty, history, and charm. Being able to step outside of the city life and see the countryside of rolling hill after rolling hill refreshes me. These views subtly remind me of my home back in Michigan and make me realize that I take for granted all the fields and countryside where I grew up. This leaves me feeling thankful for both my home in Michigan and being able to experience moments like these in my home in England.

The hike was beautiful as we enjoyed the countryside, little lakes, a river trickling over rocks, and a little waterfall. Taking in the beauty of God’s nature is always breathtaking and so worth walking the five miles for.

I had an especially memorable experience with the rolling hills of this hike. Near the waterfall I ended up slipping and fell down a little way off of the beaten path. This was an immediate fright for the people around me, as they imagined the worst to happen. This was a moment where time seemed to stop for everyone as I rolled down the hill. After I stopped by holding onto the shrubs around me, everyone was able to catch their breath again as I turned around smiling, saying that I was okay. I had some trouble getting back onto the path, since I had fallen off of a little ledge that was too tall for me to climb back up onto myself. I needed help, and luckily, Gabby was there to lend me a hand and pull me back up onto the straight path.

The rest of the day got me thinking about my life. Someone asked me if I “saw my life flash before my eyes” as I was falling. I answered no, and in all honesty; I said that I just saw brush and weeds flashing in front of my eyes. Thinking of the experiences I've had and the opportunities I have been given, I have had two things stand out to me most over the past couple of weeks. Thinking back over Gabby’s hand pulling me back up onto the path, I think of how God relates to us. We fall over and over again, but he is always there for us and waiting for us to return like the father in the parable of the Prodigal Son. When we return to him and his extensive love that we can never comprehend, he is ready to pull us back up onto the straight path, which he does over and over again (read more about his amazing love in this short devotional here). We just need to admit our faults and accept his hand to pull us back up.

Secondly, I think of a conversation I had with my brother a few weeks ago. We talked about how his co-workers (as well as many other people in the world) find it difficult to accept death and do not want it to happen soon because they have so much more in life that they want to do. I agreed with his co-workers. I talked about how I want to start my career, get married, have kids, as well as accomplish other dreams before I die. My brother responded that all of these goals of mine are great; although, when we step foot in heaven, all of these goals will be miniscule compared to what we will experience in paradise.

All of the things that believers want to do before they die won’t ever ever “compare to the joy that’s coming.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JYGhQWgqq4